Wales may pick James Hook at fly-half in Australia Test

James Hook could earn only his seventh start at fly-half in his past 32 Test
matches when the Six Nations Grand Slam champions set out to avoid a series
whitewash against Australia in Sydney.

Playmaker: James Hook could be given the No10 jersey for the final Test against the WallabiesPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

By Graham Clutton

7:11PM BST 18 Jun 2012

The 26 year-old was an unused substitute in the second Test in Melbourne at the weekend, which Wales lost to a last-minute penalty from Wallabies replacement Mike Harris. However, with encumbent fly-half Rhys Priestland clearly vulnerable, having kicked away possession with only seconds remaining, Hook could get his opportunity at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

A revelation at the World Cup last year, Priestland has under-performed in recent internationals. Wales’ coaching team prefer Hook at centre, but it would be folly not to at least consider the Perpignan pivot as a half-back partner for his former Ospreys’ team-mate Mike Phillips. Caretaker coach Rob Howley is unlikely to make many alterations, although lock Luke Charteris and centre Scott Williams could be recalled.

Having used New South Wales’ State of Origin rugby league victory over Queensland as motivation ahead of Saturday’s game in Melbourne, Wales continued the cross-code theme on Sunday, with several coaches and players heading to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Sydney Swans AFL side train. “The aerial side of rugby is a huge part of the game nowadays, and I’ll tell you straight, the hardest thing to defend is a lost aerial battle,” said Wales assistant coach Shaun Edwards.

“So anything you can pick up from experts in that area, which clearly teams like the Swans are, we’re more than willing to do that.”

Scotland captain Ross Ford believes his team can make it three tour wins out of three by beating Samoa in Apia on Saturday.